The individual divorce case files for North Dakota District Court in Cass County, N.D. are part of the Civil Case files. It was only after the transfer of the civil case files to the Institute for Regional Studies in 2001 that the divorce files were pulled and established as a separate records series. This was done to aid in the retrieval and use of these records. Neither the original book indexes nor the case file wrappings indicate the type of civil case. Inspection of the each case file's contents had to be done to determine which was indeed a divorce proceeding. All cases in which divorce proceedings were initiated have been pulled, whether or not the case ended in a decree of divorce. Annulments and other legal actions between a married couple were not pulled and remain part of the general civil case files.

The original numerical filing system was retained, which consists of the PH number followed by the actual case number. PH is the abbreviation for ‘pigeon hole' which was the number assigned to the drawer compartments in the clerk of court office in which the case was filed. The case number is a sequential number. The PH-Case File numbers generally are in chronological sequence. But, some cases were filed under a much higher PH number likely because of drawer compartment space consideration, and thus they are out of chronological sequence. The container listing section of this finding aid only lists the PH number.

The divorce case files, over 3300 individual case files, span from the beginning of the administering of divorce proceedings in Cass County in 1878 through 1942. Individual files vary as to the type and number of documents and the information included. A typical file includes legal documents filed with the court, testimony, depositions, final decree and occasionally evidence such as photographs, letters and artifacts.

Researchers who may know what happened to the litigants after the divorce proceedings are encouraged to submit documents related to their later lives. This information is being filed in the individual case file as well as in a general file in box one. This information is being gathered to aid future historians and researchers that use the collection.

A database to the litigants and attorneys has been developed to aid the researcher in using these records. The database was developed by the Institute staff, using the original index ledgers and verified against the actual files. The database includes the names of the plaintiff, defendant, attorneys; inclusive years of the divorce proceedings and any supplemental information such as residence of defendant, grounds for divorce, etc. The original book indexes are maintained at the Institute. For divorce records after 1942, contact the Cass County Clerk of Court office, 211 9th Street South, Fargo, ND 58103.

Searchable Database available
 

 Cass County, Divorce case files |  Cass County | Legal